side street

American  

noun

1. a street leading away from a main street; an unimportant street or one carrying but little traffic.

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side street British  

noun

1. a minor or unimportant street, esp one leading off a main thoroughfare

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side street Idioms  

1. A minor thoroughfare that carries little traffic, as in Our favorite hotel is on a quiet little side street. The side in this idiom means “off to one side, away from the main street.” [c. 1600] Also see back street.

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Etymology

Origin of side street

First recorded in 1610–20

Example Sentences

It started on a quiet residential side street, then turned left past a giant blue mural before snaking 100m down the main road to the doors of a new dental practice.

From BBC

We crossed dark side streets, crested bridges, wheeled round invisible corners.

From Literature

The side streets were still unpaved, fading out to the barren pebbly lots of a railyard and a gas plant.

From Literature

“We are going to be looking around, and we are staying with the group, not going on a side street, and not gather unnecessarily.”

From MarketWatch

Celia flips on the turn signal and pulls onto a side street, where she parks in front of a brown house.

From Literature